The Sky's Tears
by LettersToHeartbreak
Summary: It started by a passing glance on a day when it rained [Oneshot] [Complete!]


The first time Eren had seen Levi, she was a small child within a sea of people watching the Survey Corps leaving the gates of Shingashina for the outside world. Back then, no one knew just how important of a soldier he would become. Levi was just the new soldier from the Underground sided by two others. It had been his first expedition outside when Eren had spotted him from the ocean of green.

The small girl had watched many expeditions as they left and returned, each time smaller than the last. This had been the smallest yet that she had seen in her limited years of life. Why the nameless raven soldier with a permanent expression of annoyance had drawn her attention, instead of the loud redhead with eyes akin to her own in both color and passion, or the tall blond talking quietly with his companions she would never know. Perhaps the reason never mattered because for the briefest of moments, Eren's eyes widened as the nameless raven locked eyes with her.

For the briefest of moments, Eren found herself lost within a storm of greys, cobalt, and dark blues. She found herself lost within the depths as she witnessed this man's emotions behind the mask. Hardship, anger, sadness, nervousness, suspicion- and hope. In that heartbeat, Eren realized that this nameless soldier held the world on his shoulders, never knowing his responsibility. When their short contact broke as the man looked away to say something to his companions, Eren frowned thoughtfully, her juvenile excitement of watching the heroes forgotten. She watched in muted silence as the nameless raven soldier rode out into freedom, catching for the briefest of moments the awed expression breaking through his mask just before the gate closed.

The second time Eren had seen Levi, she was watching the returning expedition through the sad drizzle of rain. The converging crowds of spectators from the sunny morning had shrunken when the rain deluge began; those remaining were the families of the returning soldiers and the single lone girl standing on the edge of the crowd, devoid of a coat or hat to shield her small body from the crying sky.

When the gate opened, Eren perked in interest, watching as the returning soldiers filed in. First she saw Erwin, the leader of the expedition, his expression grim but his shoulders straight, a bandaged hand gingerly holding the reins of his horse as he guided the soldiers. She saw Hanji and Mike next, the scientist known to be bursting with depthless energy that it had almost been painful to watch looked like a defeated pup sitting among the garbage of sewage, head bow, shoulders tucked in and expression devoid of emotion. Blood splattered like dying petals of flowers along her uniform, her once proud cloak that bore the Wings suddenly seemed limp and gray, torn to shreds. Mike had been a mirror of Erwin, appearing grim but portraying a strong façade, a fortress showing signs of times and erosion.

The shivering child had seen Levi then, the sight freezing her heart within her chest. The nameless raven soldier that Eren had seen that morning, filled with so much emotion, his eyes once as sharp as steel- now appeared dead. Eren's heart had squeezed uncomfortably as she watched him. The nameless raven had slumped forward, his forehead resting on the broad neck of his horse, face tilted slightly as he stared listlessly to the side, the side that Eren coincidently had been on. This time, when Eren locked eyes with the mysterious soldier, she saw nothing, the storms dead. When he past, Eren had unknowingly began to follow, walking alongside his horse, keeping her distance as she searched his eyes. That very morning, Eren remembered when the soldier had seen her for the briefest of moments; she had seen that subtle spark of acknowledgement, the sign that he saw her. Now, even as she walked silently along, ignoring the devastated cries of families and jeering from the crowds, she saw no spark. The raven in front of her saw nothing, staring straight through the little girl that had taken a solemn interest in him just hours before. Despite the rain, Eren knew silent tears were falling from her eyes, mingling with the rainwater. She had broken the one-sided contact, scanning the soldiers in hopes to see the companions of the raven soldier, hoping to see the explosive redhead, or the tall blond amongst the group, only for that hope to be crushed.

Eren stopped following the nameless raven's horse then, her tears falling harder as she watched the raven slowly dwindling away from her. The girl gripped the cloth of her dress over her heart, and felt as it thudded heavily like the footfalls of the soldiers.

That day, Eren had cried for the broken man who couldn't

Xxx

When Eren returned home, she sat quietly on the window cushion of the first floor window, listening silently to the tapping of the rain on glass. Eren stared thoughtfully at the small window garden her mother had raised, a bush of white roses glowing with an innocent light, stems bowing under the weight of water.

"Hey mama?"

"Yes dear?"

"Can I have a vase?" Carla turned, regarding her unusually quiet daughter. When Eren returned home, soaking wet, shivering and crying, Carla had rushed to clean her daughter up, drying Eren by the fire and giving her a stem of mint to chew on. On normal occasions, the mint would cheer her daughter up instantly, Eren's depressed mood forgotten instantly- instead, Eren had taken vigil by the window, the mint forgotten on the table. Carla smiled as she reached into a cupboard, withdrawing with a simple blue vase clasped in her hand.

"Of course, but why do you need it?" Eren gently took the glass object, not answering as she set the vase on the window sill with the gentleness Carla had never witnessed from her tomboyish daughter.

Before Carla could react, Eren had opened the door, walking out into the rain.

"Eren!" Carla rushed to the door, hoping to grab her child before Eren got too soaked, only to freeze in her movement as she spotted her daughter through the window.

Eren was in front of the window garden, hand gently cupping the petals of a blooming rose. With a quick snap, Eren took her chosen flower, pressing it softly into her chest as if it were a child as she walked back inside. Eren ignored Carla as she placed the rose into the vase, rainwater dripping from her hair and clothes into the opening, filling the previously empty glassware with water. The young child sat back, staring at the rose with a kind of morbid curiosity.

Snapping out of her stupor, Carla rushed to her daughter.

"Eren! What were you doing? You only just got dry, now you're all wet again!" Carla scolded, picking up the towel she had used before, gently patting her daughter dry, she paused as she spotted a prick of red welling on her daughter's finger.

"You're bleeding!" Carla gasped, taking her daughter's small hand into her larger one to examine the injury. She sighed in relief when she saw it was only a pinprick, a cut caused by a thorn from the rose.

"Mama, can I have a quill and parchment?" Carla sighed, nodding as she moved to gather the items. Once she had set a sheet of paper, an ink well and a quill on the table, she watched as Eren picked up the quill.

Soon enough, words began to fill the paper in child's scrawl, Carla unable to read it as Eren hunched protectively over the parchment.

Eren placed the quill down, gently blowing on the drying ink as she moved back to the waiting vase with her paper. Carefully, she folded a lip on the bottom of the paper, pinning that beneath the vase, propping the paper up. Silently, Eren regarded her small set up, before looking up at the worried expression of her mother with an expression too old for a child.

"I saw a broken raven's eyes" Eren murmured before she walked up the stairs to her room, leaving her stunned mother behind.

Carla frown at her daughter's back, eyebrows creasing in slight confusion and worry as she walked to the window, bending to read the words written on the paper.

_Once the world seemed hopeful_

_A man's eyes filled with so much emotion_

_He went out to explore something extraordinary and new_

_He came back a broken soul_

_He will pushed those closest to him away_

_Kill those who did him wrong_

_He will bear the weight of his regrets alone_

_But in the end, the nameless man was still a broken soul_

Carla covered her mouth with a hand as she finished reading the small poem

"Oh Eren… Sometimes I can't tell if you're a child of your age or a woman who understands the worst of our world…" Carla murmured.

Quietly, as if afraid to break the heavy air that had fallen within the household, Carla returned to the kitchen, where she resumed her tasks.

Xxx

The third time Eren saw Levi, he saved her and Armin from two titans. He never said a word.

The fourth time, he remained silent just like the third. Even as Erwin briefed Eren about their plan to secure Eren into their ranks, Levi stared at her with a sort of deadness in his expression. The only reaction Eren was able to gain was when she recited her well known vow to annihilate the monsters that threatened humanity; a faint spark of interest before it promptly died.

The fifth time had been in the courtroom. When the first kick had been swung, Eren had not been expecting it- in fact she was expecting a bullet, causing her to look up in shock at her attacker. When Levi beat her into the ground, Eren had been caught in a whirlwind, but it had nothing to do with the attacks. With each crack, thud, or sickening sound of flesh meeting flesh, Levi never made a sound, never a change in his dead expression. In all honesty, Eren probably could've completely forgotten the beating itself if it wasn't for the continuous fiery eruptions of pain at every spot of impact.

When Erwin won Eren, as a subordinate under Levi himself- Eren was finally formally introduced to the man she had watched since childhood.

When Levi had unexpectedly sat next to Eren on the couch, Eren glanced sharply at her new superior. She got no verbal question, but as she gazed into Levi's eyes, she didn't need one.

"I don't hate you sir," Levi's eyebrows rose in shock, eyes widening a mere fraction "You had to put on a show, and I understand that- thank you for doing that..." Eren murmured, smiling softly at Levi. Levi nodded, watching her out of the corner of his eye as Hanji came to crouch in front of Eren.

"Hello Eren! I know I already introduced myself but I want to do it a bit more properly. My name is Hanji Zoe, also- Silent Grump there is Levi, he doesn't talk much, but don't worry, when he did he had a mouth worthy enough to have titans cringing." Hanji joked. Eren smiled, stifling her laughs as Levi flipped Hanji off.

"It's nice to meet you Zoe-" Hanji cringed dramatically, waving her arms erratically

"Call me Hanji, Zoe makes me sound so _old_!" Eren laughed, nodding distractedly as she watched Levi.

"Even after all these years, you're still broken…" Eren murmured quietly to herself, so quiet that no one else heard her. Levi regarded the teen with a dead gaze, Eren smiled as she spotted a single spark of life that resisted the smothering force within his eyes, even as it was snuffed out.

Xxx

When rain found the Survey Corps' Castle headquarters, Eren had slipped away from the squad quietly, soon finding herself tucked away in a window arch, viewing a courtyard from her vantage point. It had become a tradition for her. Whenever it rained, Eren would find herself somewhere secluded where she would watch the rain in silent vigil. Eren smiled as she remembered her friend's reactions, and even Keith's, when they found out about her habit. Her friends tried to force her to break it, Keith allowed her to have a few minutes. It was something only he could understand out of the whole camp, because he could recognize her expression.

It was an expression of mourning. He never questioned her, only warning her when needed.

"Eren? What are you doing out here, you could get wet!" Eren scoffed as she tilted her head in acknowledgement as Petra stopped next to Eren's arch.

"It's peaceful" Eren murmured as she fixed her eyes to the sky. Petra followed Eren's gaze.

"I guess it is…" Petra agreed, reaching out a hand into the rain, watching as the drops fell into her palm "It's like the sky is crying.." she withdrew her hand back to her side.

Silence stretched between the two, broken only by the sound of fallen rain and distant thunder rumbling countless miles away, the sound muffled as it was smothered by cloth. "Someone once told me a long time ago," Eren murmured after a long span of time "that the rain was the tears of the people who died and the tears for those who are unable to cry on their own." Petra hummed thoughtfully

"That sounds like a very wise person" Eren smiled bitterly, remembering in a wave of depression Armin's Grandfather; a kind old man who should have never died the way he did.

Eren turned to regard Petra "Have you ever cried for someone who couldn't?" She asked honestly. Petra raised an eyebrow in thought.

"No, I don't think so" Eren smiled. It was a small expression, humorless and strange on Eren's face.

"I have, it was for a nameless raven soldier who lost everything. It was raining that day too." Eren confessed, glancing back out to the rain, lips thinning into a grim line as she remembered that day.

"Nameless?"

"I know his name now, but even now, I know he still regrets after all these years. It was when I was only a kid."

Petra didn't know how to respond

A half an hour past before the silence was shattered as a lonely melody of a piano drifted through the castle. Eren blinked, listening as the notes weaved with the sound of the rain, creating a sad and heartbreaking song.

"It's beautiful, isn't it" Petra murmured, her eyes closed as she listened

"What is that?" Eren asked curiously

"Levi," Petra answered "Every time it rains, he slips away to play the piano. It's always the same song, and he never plays the piano if it's not raining otherwise." Petra explained. Silence fell between the two as they listened to the song. When the song ended, Petra bayed Eren goodbye before she left.

Left in the silence, Eren smiled as she fingered the single unblossomed rose she had found tucked between the hedge and wall. It was white.

"Who knew that the Raven would also be tied to the rain…" Eren whispered

Xxx

After that, Eren took to wandering the castle between her chores. She had explored everything, and soon knew how to navigate the castle and it's secret paths as if she had lived with them their whole life.

It was by this time that Eren was joined by her friends

Sadly Armin had been pulled aside by Erwin to discuss matters, so the peace keeper was gone. Mikasa all but sprinted to Eren, a small smile of relief gracing her lips as she saw her adopted sister safe.

"Eren!" Mikasa promptly squashed her sister into a bone crushing hug, pulling away sharply to examine Eren up and down suspiciously. "Are you alright? They didn't dissect you right? Where's that midget, I need to beat his face in for hurting yo-" Eren frown as she pulled away, ignoring Mikasa's confused expression.

"Mikasa, are you talking about Corporal Levi?" Eren asked, frowning at her adopted sister

Mikasa frowned in confusion "Yes him, where is he?" Eren shook her head

"Mikasa, I don't need you to beat up every guy that had drawn a little blood." Eren assured calmly. Mikasa scoffed

"The cocky midget did more than 'draw a little blood'!" Mikasa ground out "He humiliated you in front of a court! He didn't even say jackshit through the whole thing, course if what they say is true- the midget is mute." Eren tightened her fist as she forced her voice to remain flat. That little comment had struck a sensitive nerve, unbeknownst to Mikasa.

"If he hadn't done that, I would be dead" Eren snapped "And what does being mute have to do with anything?"

Mikasa didn't hesitate "It means the bastard was too weak when shit hit the fan!" She nearly shouted

Eren snapped "Must I kindly remind you Mikasa that after I found you, you went mute for a month, a fucking month! You had help; you have people that could talk to you! The Corporal probably didn't have that luxury! What happens if all the people that had a chance to get him to talk all DIED?! He is the strongest person I know. Can you say that you wouldn't commit suicide if Armin and I were to suddenly DIE?! He didn't give up, he's still fighting. Levi doesn't need a fucking voice to be heard." Eren screamed harshly, glaring venomously at her shocked sister. Breathing heavily, Eren whipped around, storming into the castle, leaving her friends behind as she slammed the door closed.

No one ever saw the figure standing shocked in the shadows, having heard the whole argument

Xxx

It rained again that night, and soon the castle was filled with the sorrowful sound of a lonely piano. This time, no one came to join Eren in her silent vigil, so she decided to wander, following the sounds of the piano. She soon found herself in front of an old storage room, one she knew would have dusty shelves, empty boxes and forgotten trinkets. The door was open, just by a crack, large enough for Eren to see into the room.

There she saw, sitting on the bench with fingers dancing elegantly across the keys was Levi, his eyes closed as he rode the waves of memories that Eren had no doubt the music invoked. Eren frowned as her nose twitched, picking up a sickeningly familiar sent of iron. Eren smothered a gasp as her eyes glanced across her superior's arms, were the sleeves of his button down had been rolled up to the elbows, exposing his forearms. There, like scarlet on ivory were lines of blood, slashing delicately along the scarred skin, the blood dripping rhythmically onto the tiled floor beside Levi's feet.

From the low lighting, Eren could see a shocking array of scars criss-crossing along Levi's arms, his arms smudged with the blood he was bleeding, wearing bracelets of red as his fingers continued their dance across the piano. Eren closed her eyes as a wave of sadness for her Raven over took her. She came to a decision then, as she slipped away to a different supply room, coming back on silent feet with rolls of bandage and a tub of disinfectant in her arms. Quietly, she gently placed the items within the room in front of the door, knowing Levi would find them when he was ready to exit the room.

With her task done, Eren finally slipped away, returning to her room in the dungeons just as the last note of the melody rang through the halls in a lonely cry.

Xxx

The day before the expedition, it rained. Now accustomed to hearing the crying tones of a piano, Eren soon found herself in front of the room containing the old instrument. Sitting against the wall alongside the door, Eren watched transfixed as she listened to the music Levi wove effortlessly, new slashes on his wrists accompanying raw, but no longer bleeding older ones. Eren smiled melancholically as she saw bloodied bandages strewn messily at the Corporal's feet, greedily soaking up the drops of life blood that dripped from Levi's slashed wrists.

Eren watched in rapt attention as Levi gently swayed with his music, fingers flying across the keys in their simple but strangely strong tune. His expression, something so normally dead was what Eren was happiest to see.

From recent recollection, Eren had only ever seen a bland, dead expression on Levi's face, emotions only ever showing from the tiniest of changes that Eren knew that even Erwin sometimes missed. Eren was different though, perhaps to date she was the only living human to have seen Levi truly living, even if it had only been for a few minutes. For in that span of minutes, Eren had effortlessly peered past the impenetrable mask and witness just the man Levi had been.

Ever since then, she had the key to his walls. Sometimes she found herself alone with the raven haired man, sharing tea, never trading a word or gesture- it was a companionable presence, an understanding of eachother no matter how unintentional. Of course as Eren proved over and over again her uncanny ability to just _understand_ the man whether a simple question or what kind of support he needed when emotion managed to survive the depression long enough to make an impression, his interest grew, as did his weariness.

His expression now was unguarded, relaxed and painfully human. Levi appeared older, and younger at the same time. It was the expression of a broken man, a man who has seen too much and a man who had lost hope. But with the piano producing a story in the verse of sound, Levi also appeared relieved, shedding his burden for a small amount of time

If it weren't for the weeping cuts decorating his pale wrists, Levi would look like a man in calm bliss

He was not that, Eren knew Levi was a man weighed by heavy regrets, but she was happy to see emotion either way.

In her past memories, found only when she was a child, Eren could remember seeing Levi with a spark of life in his eyes, instead of the void that resided in his entire being. In a memory so short, a few mere minutes against countless hours. That first time she had seen Levi something had clicked, that something made her willingly shed the tears his eyes were dry to, made her willing to mourn people she had seen from a distance in the place of a man left in the dark in his shock.

Eren was becoming Levi's voice and silent companion

Levi was growing to fear her because of it, and she knew it

The piano's voice strengthened as the song reached its climax, drawing Eren from her thoughts. Blinking away the dotting blackness, Eren reached into her pocket, hand reaching into the room cautiously as she placed a new roll of bandages in the same spot as the last, along with a tube of disinfectant. Pushing herself away from the wall and onto her feet, Eren crept away, listening to the last throngs of the song as the melody came to an end.

It was truly a beautiful song, but it lacked something to truly complete it. What that something was, Eren did not know.

xxx

Eren had cried for her raven again

During the expedition, when all things went to hell within the Forest of Big Trees, Eren could only think of transforming so she could protect her comrades, and prevent the deaths of those that protected them.

She was going to transform, but the order in Levi's eyes caused her to falter. He was ordering her to trust them. If Eren had been anyone else, she would have missed the order, but Eren saw it.

As the group spurred their frantic horses through the forest, Eren managed to catch up to Levi, riding side by side with him as they entered a wordless argument

He wanted her trust, she wanted to protect the last of what little spirit Levi managed to cling to like a drowning man.

It was the circular indents along the join of Levi's thumb that made Eren reluctantly agree

As Eren fell back to the rest of the squad she gazed into each of her friend's eyes.

"I trust you" Eren said, earning smiles from her friends, ignoring the icy fingers of dread that clawed at her spine.

When Eren chose to trust her comrades again when things went south, Eren was forced to watch her new family die, watch as the last of Levi's family die.

Eren snapped

As Eren's anguished roar shook the forest to its roots, she attacked her fellow female titan as if driven by the devil, soon forcing her into a deadly dance of martial arts. The thought alone of Levi soon arriving to see the corpse of his friends drove Eren to near insanity, the regret of her decisions allowing Eren to fight the much more skilled fighter.

Even as her jaw was ripped off, Eren did not pause

She would avenge her comrades

She would _devour_ the monster that killed her Raven's family

As Eren stared into the gaping maw of the titan before her, the protective layer of skin that the nape of her titan had provided ripped away, Eren continued her anguished sobs, eyes alight with a defiant hatred.

Later, when the defeated expedition returned to the walls, Eren had been forced to watch as Levi broke all over again, his expression haunted and unseeing as Petra's father talked adamantly at him, forcing Eren's heart to clench with a painful squeeze.

Then the children. Eren remembered seeing the two from that morning, cheering the soldiers on their way when they left, and now as they returned. Eren threw an arm over her eyes, gritting her teeth as depression crashed heavily into her body like a wave. She remembered when she had once been like them, before she saw Levi.

Xxx

It rained again that night; the thunder's anguished growls shaking the castle like an injured child's cries to their mother's heart.

Like the many times before when the sky had wept, the piano's music played throughout the castle, nearly drowned out by the thundering roars of the Thunderstorm. The song was different from normal, slowed as if each note was difficult to play, making the act of listening seem much more intimate.

Eren walked to the storage room, holding rolls of fresh bandages and medicine. She paused in front of the room, sniffling quietly as she listened to the painful song, using the sleeve of her shirt to wipe away the welling tears.

When they returned to the castle, Eren had shared tea with Levi in silence, sharing their grief in companionable presence. Little conversation was traded between them, only short questions traded through eyes.

Her inquiry about his leg, His question of how she felt

When Levi gave her his advice through the writing on parchment, Eren could not help but feel that Levi was making himself a bitter hypocrite. Eren could tell that Levi silently agreed with her.

Eren distractedly played with the white rose in her hand as she watched the storm through a window, watching as bolts of light raced across the sky illuminating the dark land. Eren barely winced as a thorn caught the skin of her finger, drawing a line of scarlet on her skin. Eren examined the wound with little interest, watching as the blood welled before a hiss was heard, a thing stream of steam rising from the wound before all that was left behind was unmarred skin and a bead of blood.

Wiping away the blood, Eren glanced into the room, spotting Levi in his place on the bench. Like every time before, Levi was wearing his bloody bracelets, only this time they were wider and thicker. The cuts slicing through Levi's pale skin was deeper Eren noted. The self-inflicted wounds were not deadly, and would clot before Levi would bleed out, leaving the man dizzy at the most. Eren watched as blood steadily plunked to the ground at an even pace, gathering in a puddle that had already begun to form between Levi's feet.

Eren quietly slipped into the room, the rusty hinges of the door giving only a mouse's squeak, the sound drowned out effortlessly by the distant thunder and sorrowful piano.

Placing her burden on a nearby table, Eren silently approached Levi, keeping her distance as she watched him, her eyes falling closed as she allowed the music to twine around her.

When the last note had been played, Levi remained still for a moment before leaning back from his hunched position hovered over the keys of the piano, never making a sound as he gazed out of the room's dusty window, the blurred view showing a field drowning in rainwater.

Eren watched him in sad silence, watching with dull eyes as the light from the lightning turned Levi's raven hair silver, making the man appear like a fallen angel for the briefest of moments before the image faded.

Eren closed the distance left between herself and Levi, silently sliding onto the bench beside Levi.

Levi stiffened, turning sharply as he stared at Eren in shock. Eren ignored his expression, instead extending her hand over the keys of the piano, her fingers hovering close enough to detect the cold radiating off of the ivory and onyx stones, but not touching. Eren considered the instrument sacred, holding respect for the object that Levi had come to every time he needed to grieve.

The piano was fairly simple, the kind you would see pressed up against a wall tucked in a corner. An ornament meant to be seen not heard. It was made of dark walnut that shined dully in the low lighting, trimmed with the lighter oak. The keys shown time of use, the protective hardened film chipping away from their continuous use. The board where sheets of music would rest was blank, the space collecting dust, showing that it had been many years since the piano has last seen a book of its profession.

Eren instantly loved the worn piano

"It's beautiful" Eren murmured, gently brushing her fingers along the length of the keys, never faltering even as she touched keys stained with old blood Levi had no doubt bled long ago.

Levi watched her with confusion, the expression given away only by the slightest downward tilt of his lips, his eyes questioning. Eren glanced at the raven haired man out of the corner of her eyes, giving him a tiny soft smile.

"That song you always play when it rains, can you play it again?" Eren asked quietly, praying sincerely in hopes of Levi granting her this one wish.

Levi hesitated, caught in an internal debate. After a few moments, he inclined his head slightly, before turning to the keys of the piano. Eren closed her eyes as the first notes of the song began to fill the air, waiting patiently for the right moment.

"_It was like a nightmare  
And it's pain for me_"

Levi nearly lost the rhythm as Eren suddenly began to sing. He sharply looked up, eyebrows knitting in a mixture of surprise and confusion, but continuing to play the music. Eren couldn't see his expression, her eyes still closed with her head tilted slightly back. Eren, like Levi had many times before, appeared both young and old, worn and unburden all at once.

"_Because nobody wants to die too fast  
Remember the day of grief  
Now it's strange for me  
I could see your face  
I could hear your voice_"

Levi watched Eren, captivated as the teenager's voice melded with the piano effortlessly, neither over powering the other. He never knew Eren could sing.

"_Remember the day we met  
And it's pain for me  
Because nobody wants to die too fast  
Remember the day we dreamt  
It's pain for me  
I could see your face  
I could hear your voice_"

Levi allowed his eyes to slip closed, slowly relaxing as music and voice filled the room. He never knew that his music was missing something so crucial. Not that he would've ever provided the correct words. Even when he had spoke, he was never a good talker, far too awkward and terse.

"_Can't look back  
They will not come back  
Don't be afraid  
It's time after time  
So, once again I'm hiding in my room  
The peaceful times are what make us blind  
"See you can't fly if you never try" you told me oh, long ago  
But you left the wall outside the gate  
And more than ever, it's real_"

But Eren… She was special

"_It was like a nightmare  
And it's pain for me  
Because nobody wants to die too fast  
Remember the day we dreamt  
Now it's strange for me  
I could see your face  
I could hear your voice"_

Levi closed his eyes, feeling something wash over him

"_Remember the day we met_  
_And it's pain for me_  
_Because nobody wants to die too fast_  
_Remember the day we dreamt_  
_And it's pain for me_  
_I could see your face_  
_I could hear your voice_"

It was relief

"_Sing for the reluctant heroes_  
_Oh Give me your strength_  
_Your lives are too short_  
_Sing for the reluctant heroes_  
_I wanna be brave like you"_

_""See you can't fly if you never try" you told me oh, long ago_  
_But you left the wall outside the gate_  
_Now more than ever, it's real_"

"_Because nobody wants to die too fast  
Remember the day of grief  
Now it's strange for me  
I could see your face  
I could hear your voice_"

Eren opened her eyes, watching as Levi also opened his, as if he sensed her stare, their eyes locked

"_Remember the day we met_  
_And it's pain for me_  
_Because nobody wants to die too fast_  
_Remember the day we dreamt_  
_And it's pain for me_  
_I could see your face_  
_I could hear your voice_"

Eren smiled at him as she sung, her eyes closing again

"_Sing for the reluctant heroes  
Oh Give me your strength  
Your lives are too short  
Sing for the reluctant heroes  
I wanna be brave like…." _

"_You…"_

Eren smiled as a second voice finished for her. It was a deep voice, baritone. It was scratchy and strained, as if the single word took immense energy and effort. While the voice was rough with years of disuse, Eren thought it was the most beautiful sound she had ever heard.

As the last notes of the song tempered away, Eren opened her eyes, gently reaching a hand to cup Levi's cheek, staring deep into his eyes, gently brushing away beads of tears from his cheeks as they steadily streamed from his beautiful, _alive_ eyes.

"I see you, my Raven." Eren whispered, giving Levi a beautiful smile. Levi returned it with a smaller, but equally as stunning smile.

"Thank you, Eren." Levi whispered, pulling Eren into a hug, placing a chaste kiss to her cheek before resting his chin on her shoulder. Eren smiled as she returned the hug, wrapping her arms around Levi's back.

"Anytime Levi"

Xxx

As the couple left the storage room for the last time, there on the piano's keys was a single white rose.

* * *

**FIN **

* * *

**A/N: This story was a pain in the ass. I lost four pages that I had to rewrite when they got wiped from a random failure in saving and just a lot of other issues, I almost gave up on this actually, but I'm glad I didn't, I am satisfied by the ending. Alright, just to answer some question that may come up in advance!**

**Q: Why did Levi cut? **

**A: I chose to make Levi a cutter in a deeper sense then needing a release, I believe that if a man like Levi were to do something like cutting he would do it for a deeper reason. In this, Levi is cutting because he feels that he should shed equivalent amounts of blood as the people who shed blood to protect him. So this is more psychological than anything, but no he wouldn't be addicted to it, so I believe that with Eren's help, he would break this tendency quickly enough. I'm sorry I never explained in the story, I meant to but it just never happened**

**Q: Poem?**

**A: I am so bad at poetry, I'm so sorry… I couldn't find a poem that quite fitted what I wanted so I ended up making one… It's bad, I know**

**Q: Why can Eren 'understand' Levi even though he is mute?**

**A: Another complex thought of mine that I implicated into the story. When Eren first saw Levi as a young girl, she accidentally was able to see what Levi was feeling without his knowledge that his walls were down. Because of this Eren gained the ability to read Levi like a book when someone like Erwin, as good as he is at reading people would not be able to see. 'Soul Mates' comes to mind but that's not what happens between Eren and Levi, they just reach such a deep understanding of each other that they just kind of… click…**

**As inspired by LeeanLie's cover of The Reluctant Hero  
**


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